On the afternoon of November 5, the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China and the Shanghai Municipal People's Government hosted the Parallel Session on Digital Finance Boosting Global Economic and Trade Development of the 7th Hongqiao International Economic Forum (shortly referred to as the Hongqiao Forum) at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai). Tang Wenhong, Assistant Minister of Commerce, Xie Dong, Vice Mayor of Shanghai, Ge Haijiao, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bank of China, and Yuan Bingzhong, Vice President of Xinhua News Agency, attended the parallel session and delivered speeches. Keynote speeches were given by Lei Wai Nong, Secretary for Economy and Finance of the Macao Special Administrative Region Government, Michael Gelchie, Global CEO of Louis Dreyfus, and Eric Maskin, 2007 Nobel Laureate in Economics.

In his speech, Tang Wenhong, Assistant Minister of Commerce said that digital finance can enhance financial service efficiency, promote inclusive finance, strengthen support for the real economy, and help prevent financial risks, thereby accelerating the formation of new productive forces. In recent years, the Ministry of Commerce has continued increasing coordination with the financial sector through digital openness, commerce-finance collaboration, and streamlined channels to jointly advance digital finance and ameliorate financial service quality and efficiency for the real economy. Looking forward, the Ministry of Commerce will work with relevant departments to strategically promote financial work in commerce from a national perspective of building a strong trade and financial country, thus driving high-quality development in both commerce and finance.

Xie Dong, Vice Mayor of Shanghai, noted that Shanghai is vigorously advancing the digital economy and leveraging digital trade to facilitate synergy between the city's development as an international financial and trade center. Xie expressed hope that all parties would contribute their expertise to the development of Shanghai's "Five Centers" and support the city’s goal of becoming a world-influential, modern socialist international metropolis.

In his speech, Ge Haijiao, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bank of China, stated that digital finance has become increasingly integrated with industrial chains, aligned with the characteristics of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and adaptable to new trade formats in serving the development of trade and commerce. The Bank of China will continue its active participation in building a digital finance ecosystem, help drive global trade development, seize opportunities in digital trade, expand inclusive financial services, and collaborate on digital regulatory frameworks to foster an open, integrated industry ecosystem. The Bank will also work to enhance risk protection, uphold digital financial security, and develop financial infrastructure to establish more efficient financing channels.

Yuan Bingzhong, Vice President of Xinhua News Agency, emphasized that the development of digital finance requires both "solid measures" in the form of policy support from regulatory authorities and a favorable "soft environment" fostered by the media. Xinhua News Agency will fully leverage its unique global network for collection, distribution, and reach to support the digital transformation of the financial sector.

The parallel session also featured discussions with invited leaders from government, academia, and industry on topics related to the development trends of global digital trade and digital finance.

In his keynote remarks, Lei Wai Nong, Secretary for Economy and Finance of the Macao Special Administrative Region Government said that in the face of new opportunities brought by digitization, Macao, relying on its development positioning as a “service platform for business and trade cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries”, will continue to play the role of a bridge and a link to assist in the continuous deepening of cooperation in various fields such as economy and trade, finance, and so on.

In his keynote speech, Michael Gelchie, Global CEO of Louis Dreyfus Group, said that technologies such as big data analytics and blockchain have been widely used in all aspects of the contemporary agricultural supply chain. Louis Dreyfus Group will deepen its cooperation with China and other parties to meet the challenges, seize the opportunities, promote digital transformation, and create a more resilient food and agriculture trade environment.

Eric Maskin, the 2007 Nobel Laureate in Economics, said that blockchain is a transformative technology that has been widely used in various fields such as money transfers, and shipping logistics, helping to realize the effective allocation of resources and making transactions more secure. However, cryptocurrencies like bitcoin may influence the effectiveness of government monetary policies and could be used for illegal activities. He suggested that governments should continue implementing countercyclical monetary policies, with government-issued currency remaining dominant.

The above session was hosted by Zhao Rong, Chief Risk Officer, Bank of China.

In the first panel discussion session, hosted by Zhou Jingtong, Deputy Director of Research Institute of BOC, Di Gang, Deputy Director, People's Bank of China Digital Currency Institute, Du Guochen, Director of the E-commerce Research Institute at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation (CAITEC) under the Ministry of Commerce, Chen Zhao, Professor and Deputy Dean of the School of Data Science, Fudan University, and Chen Qiru, Vice President of Tencent Financial Technology, exchanged views on the topic of "Global Digital Trade and Digital Finance Development Trends: Opportunities and Challenges".

In the second panel discussion session, Wang Wei, Deputy GM of Digital Transformation Division, China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited, Wang Lei, President, Shanghai Ouye Jincheng Information Service Co., Ltd., Song Kai, Chief Digital Officer (CDO), China Merchants Energy Shipping Co., Ltd., Lv Feng, General Manager, Shanghai E&P International, INC. and Harriet Wu, Deputy General Manager & CFO, CMA CGM China, hosted by Li Xiaowei, Deputy General Manager, Global Transaction Banking Department, Bank of China, had an in-depth exchange on the topic of "Digital Application and Financial Services for Shipping Trade". 

Some images are from China Economic Information Service